Something Withered: Putting life back into blooms

Withered flowers bloom back to life in the hands of Sheila Fernando, former editor and a content creator on Instagram. As a micro, small and medium enterprise owner, Sheila was among the 51 merchants at the recently concluded physical bazaar, Tindahan ni Tarsee at the Ayala Malls Manila Bay on 25 to 27 November.

Her whimsical arrangements consisting of flowers like roses, sunflowers, gerbera daisies, chrysanthemums, wheat flowers, and more, are enjoyed in diverse ways. For instance, as a bridal bouquet, her flowers became popular when it was difficult to have access to fresh flower suppliers due to the lockdown in 2020 through mid-year of 2021.

Something Withered also makes for a charming centerpiece at home — on the dining table or side table. Recently, Fernando thought of placing her bloom arrangements in small glass domes with add-ons like firefly lights to turn the domes into lamps, or with toys for display or as decor at home.

While minding her delightful display at the Tindahan ni Tarsee bazaar, Fernando generously shared how her passion for the arts turned into a profitable hobby two years ago:

Daily Tribune (DT): Tell us the story behind Something Withered?
Sheila Fernando (SF): I used to be a content creator on Instagram. So, that time, dried flowers had a come back and were the trend. I saw it's
long-lasting and since I am fond of arts since I was a kid, I tried buying dried flowers then I arranged it. That was May 2020; we launched Something Withered on September. I said I can do this now.
This was just meant to be a part-time business but it boomed. One of our goals is to lessen flower waste. Because there are some flowers that we import but were not preserved. We dry some of the fresh flowers. At least, it lessens the flower waste. We are only an online shop for now with no physical store.

DT: Are your flowers locally sourced?
SF: No. Actually, we source them from China and Holland. We also source French lavender from France but we're having difficulty right now to import. So, mostly from China and Holland. But we also have locals who dry flowers but mostly our sources are from overseas.

DT: Are you planning to import your products?
SF: Not yet but it is one of our goals to expand our market internationally since there are customers who want to ship our products worldwide.

DT: What flowers do you usually use?
SF: The easiest flower to preserve are roses. It came to fame because of Beauty and the Beast's Belle's single rose. Then we also have the fillers, baby's breath and hydrangea.

DT: How do you preserve flowers?
SF: Actually, our products are mostly preserved upon delivery. So, what we preserve are the baby's breath, misty, and other local flowers that are from Baguio. We air dry the flowers and hang them upside-down depending on the type of flower. Sometimes, it takes two days to two weeks for it to dry. Since these have no chemicals unlike the flowers that we import, it has a shorter life span that take one to two years. While the imported flowers last for three to five years.

DT: What are your latest Something Witheres products?
SF: We have acrylic balls or lamps and upon their release, they instantly became our best-selling product line. Because it is the cheaper than our flower domes, which range from P2,800 to P3,200.
If you notice, we also put figures inside our flower domes. It was just an idea of one of our clients. We do not make the figures but we recommend them to a shop that does that. After making the figures, we arrange it as a flower dome. We also have a partner store who does customizing figures.

DT: Now that Christmas season is nearby, what would be the best gift from among your products?
SF: We actually have gift boxes and bundles that come with scented candles. There are also amber bottles that have DIYs. Price points start from P500 pesos and up, depending on the type of flowers used.

DT: Where can our
ka-Tribus order?
SF: We are available on Facebook and Instagram @SomethingWithered, and our website something withered.com.